Articles

It is nice to have a retirement account with a significant balance. It is also nice to have a significant amount of equity in a home. It can be difficult to get tax relief from the IRS for unpaid taxes if you have one or more of these assets. Reasonable Collection Potential The IRS factors… Read →

Do you have a hobby that makes money, but costs more than it makes? If so, here is what you need to know before deducting the expenses on your tax return. Business expenses are generally required to be reported on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business. A net loss from Schedule C is carried… Read →

The IRS imposes penalties for a number of different types of conduct. Many of these penalties can be abated or removed based on reasonable cause. Reasonable cause refers to there being extenuating circumstances. The estimated tax penalty is different, as extenuating circumstances are largely irrelevant. This makes it even more important to pay estimated taxes… Read →

If you have ever been through an IRS audit, you know that the IRS likes to review records. The IRS expects you to have these records. It also expects you to produce the records timely and without question. But you have the right to request records from the IRS too. The Freedom of Information Act… Read →

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the nation’s consumer protection agency. It works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace. It weighed in on the tax relief companies in an article posted on its website. Taxpayers should consider the FTC’s warnings before hiring a tax relief company. Unethical Tax Relief Practices… Read →

We all do things that we regret. It is part of being human. This article addresses one of these things. Specifically, it addresses what you need to do if you filed a frivolous tax return or another document with the IRS and the IRS is attempting to impose a penalty on you for doing so.… Read →

This is the third part of a three-part series of articles that explain what you need to know about the federal tax lien if you have unpaid tax debts. If you missed the prior two installments, you can find them here and here. As explained previously, the IRS’s federal tax lien can have a devastating… Read →

This is the second part of a three-part series of articles that explains what you need to know about the federal tax lien if you have unpaid tax debts. If you missed the first installment of this series, you can read it here. The IRS’s federal tax lien can have a devastating impact on your… Read →

If you have unpaid taxes, you may be surprised to learn that the IRS has a lien against your property. The IRS federal tax lien is the tool that allows the IRS to collect unpaid taxes. The IRS’s federal tax lien can have a devastating impact on your personal finances. This is the first installment… Read →

It is unnerving getting mail from the IRS. For taxpayers who know they have tax problems, it can be tempting to simply ignore the mail with the hope that the IRS will simply go away. This is almost always a bad idea. But there are some very limited circumstances when not receiving IRS mail can… Read →